Harrison Smith

Discussion in 'Men’s Basketball' started by hornadmin, Apr 18, 2008.

  1. hornadmin

    hornadmin First Time Poster

    What ever happened to him? I remember him being highly recruited but all I see is his butt warming a seat on the bench?
     
  2. SL Xpress

    SL Xpress 500+ Posts

    Great first post.

    It's pretty easy to come to your own conclusions. For whatever reason, he's not seen as someone who can contribute to the team's success --- at least not this past year.

    When the guard rotation is basically only 3 players in a 3 guard lineup, in a season where Ian Mooney manages to earn substantial playing time, that should tell you all you need to know with no additional input.
     
  3. That's Right

    That's Right 500+ Posts

    That doesn't tell me all I need to know. This guy averaged like 25 a game in high school and was recruited to UT and yet he's never seen significant playing time in his career. I would like to know some specifics as to why he is deemed not good enough or perhaps not ready to play for us.
     
  4. hippie

    hippie 25+ Posts

    the one thing i notice in addtion to what you mention slx, is that the team pulls for him very hard when he gets to mop up. almost in the way fans pull for the beloved walk-ons. it just tells me he is very much like by his teammates. so it doesn't seem to be a team level chemistry issue. that leaves performance (which sometimes you have to try a kid in the game to find out) or chemistry with the coaches.

    i also notice the kid being a good cheerleader on the sidelines.

    so it seems a little different than the typical tranfer types of the past.
     
  5. Third Coast

    Third Coast 10,000+ Posts

    He definitely appears to have physical ability and nice form on his shots from what I've seen in his garbage time appearances.

    Of course if garbage time was all the time, we'd all be sanitary engineers.
     
  6. Bob in Houston

    Bob in Houston 2,500+ Posts

    He's (apparently considered) no better than the fourth combo guard on a team that basically plays three of them.

    But that wouldn't matter if he did so much of what was requested that Barnes "had" to play him. That's obviously not happening, either.
     
  7. 4realhorn

    4realhorn 500+ Posts


     
  8. Stuck_At_Work

    Stuck_At_Work 1,000+ Posts

    I realize he is only in for 'trash' minutes... but the guy always looks when he is in. He doesn't seem hesitant to take it to the basket and he has a knack for scoring. Perhaps that isn't the part of his game that is lacking... I dunno.
     
  9. Bob in Houston

    Bob in Houston 2,500+ Posts

    I would guess that's an accurate portrayal of the situation.
     
  10. cochamps

    cochamps 2,500+ Posts


     
  11. jimmyjazz

    jimmyjazz 2,500+ Posts


     
  12. EJC+1

    EJC+1 250+ Posts

    If Harrison Smith can't earn one iota of real playing time then 2 things must be in question...

    1) consistent effort
    2) defensive ability

    Barnes has favored these type of players in the past....see Justin Mason and Royal Ivey.
     
  13. Texoz

    Texoz 1,000+ Posts

    I trust that Coach Barnes knows what he's doing, but we really needed depth at PG this season. Why didn't he throw Harrison to the wolves early last season and see if he had survived?

    As others have mentioned, when he does play he doesn't stink up the joint, which begs the question. Why not let him play more and see what happens? If DJ leaves, we'll definitely need some more time from a PG not named Augustin.
     
  14. Bob in Houston

    Bob in Houston 2,500+ Posts


     
  15. Ramathorn

    Ramathorn 1,000+ Posts

    slx has spoken.
     
  16. SL Xpress

    SL Xpress 500+ Posts


     
  17. That's Right

    That's Right 500+ Posts


     
  18. denchen

    denchen 100+ Posts

    i think harrison's issue (probably not the only one) is that he doesn't handle the ball well enough to play in the 3 guard lineup. he can't be trusted in the dribble at the top of key, hand-off to somebody else role that guards in this offense seem to need to do. since there's really not a small forward role in the offense, he's too small to play anywhere else. JD lewis, as a comparison, handles it better than smith does. i, for one, can't work up much excitement from watching his play in garbage time.
     
  19. SL Xpress

    SL Xpress 500+ Posts


     
  20. hanshorn

    hanshorn < 25 Posts

    so somebody screwed up when they offered a scholarship? is that the bottom line?
     
  21. oldgeezer

    oldgeezer 25+ Posts


     
  22. Hardwood Horn

    Hardwood Horn < 25 Posts

    I have never heard of Barnes recruiting player A in hopes of getting Player B. So, I doubt that Barnes recruited Smith to help with Jordan. I don't think it is correct to label Smith as a screw up in recruiting unless you expect that every single player that comes to UT to be good to great. I would give Barnes extremely high marks for player development. A program is always going to have a few players that do not develop as expected.

    I am going to take SLXs side on the “all you need to know discussion”. After ten years it is clear that Barnes does not play anyone who does not play defense, does not hustle, or does not do what he is told to do. To a lessor extent Barnes does not play someone if there is someone significantly more talented playing ahead of them. Smith appears to have some talent, so one is left with the other three explanations. Sure, it would be nice to know the details regarding the lack of playing time. But, since Barnes is pretty closed mouth about team issues it is unlikely we are going to find out.
     
  23. moosejaw

    moosejaw < 25 Posts

    smith was very highly touted out of high school. he had offers from the likes of uconn, florida, etc. some players just don't pan out like they're expected. smith can definitely score the basketball. the other phases of his game just haven't developed.
     
  24. ArmonTanzarian

    ArmonTanzarian 100+ Posts


     
  25. whereiend

    whereiend 100+ Posts

    im just hoping that it will be kenton paulino part 2 and he will be able to contribute by the time he is a senior.
     
  26. jimmyjazz

    jimmyjazz 2,500+ Posts


     
  27. longhornmatt

    longhornmatt 25+ Posts

    Smith doesn't seem that quick or smooth with the ball from what I have seen. He looks like he has a decent shot and a strong enough body, but overall he just doesn't appear to be the type of player who will log big minutes for a top 25 program.

    However, I will say that Craig Winder was also supposedly a lost cause waste of a scholarship until we actually gave him a chance to play last year. He wasn't a star or anything, but it did turn out that he could (gasp) actually help us more than JD Lewis had been doing. Along those same lines, I suspect that Smith could have done more for us this year than Lewis and certainly more than Mooney. (Side note - putting Mooney in to be the designated fouler against Memphis and then Mooney being too slow to catch up with any Memphis players so he could foul them was hilarious in a depressing sort of way).

    Smith does do one thing that doesn't help his cause. It's the same thing Winder did when he would come in at the end of games, and that is shoot the ball whenever he touches it. You can tell that Barnes didn't appreciate either of them doing it, but then again it's hard to blame them for trying to get their money's worth given the situation.

    Whatever the reason, it's probably going to take a rash of injuries or dumb luck for Smith to ever crack the rotation at this point. For one, the guys in front of him are more talented. The other reason is that Barnes definitely has a doghouse, and from what I have observed over the years, it's not easy to get out of.
     
  28. jimmyjazz

    jimmyjazz 2,500+ Posts

    I know recruiting isn't an exact science, but it is interesting to look at the schools that pursued Smith, given what he has shown (or not shown) on the court.
     
  29. Maduka

    Maduka 250+ Posts

    I myself wondered aloud whether or not he was a good player. But I have to say in the garbage time this year, he has looked that part of a good player. Lets be honest our 3 guard rotation is good. AJ brings offense, DJ brings floor command, and JM brings defense. All three can handle the ball. I think that Smith will get time this coming year to help out with ball handling and maybe scoring. He'll only be a junior this year, so lets not get carried away.
     
  30. Gus McCrea

    Gus McCrea 25+ Posts

    That theory is incorrect.
     

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